Wednesday, May 02, 2007

All current HD-DVDs are encrypted using the same 32 digit code. This code was, until very recently, top secret. And then, it wasn't. It was leaked. It was everywhere... but only for a second. Many pages and sites it appeared on went down rapidly.

Digg was inundated with people spreading this code - though hardly anyone would have the first idea how to go on and implement it. This must have been one of the busiest days in Digg history. So, of course, they came under fire. And here's their statement, making their official stance on the matter clear.

Today was an insane day. And as the founder of Digg, I just wanted to post my thoughts…

In building and shaping the site I’ve always tried to stay as hands on as possible. We’ve always given site moderation (digging/burying) power to the community. Occasionally we step in to remove stories that violate our terms of use (eg. linking to pornography, illegal downloads, racial hate sites, etc.). So today was a difficult day for us. We had to decide whether to remove stories containing a single code based on a cease and desist declaration. We had to make a call, and in our desire to avoid a scenario where Digg would be interrupted or shut down, we decided to comply and remove the stories with the code.

But now, after seeing hundreds of stories and reading thousands of comments, you’ve made it clear. You’d rather see Digg go down fighting than bow down to a bigger company. We hear you, and effective immediately we won’t delete stories or comments containing the code and will deal with whatever the consequences might be.

If we lose, then what the hell, at least we died trying.

Digg on,

Kevin

Now, using this code in anyway to pirate HD-DVDs - that would be wrong. That's my stance. But I can think of plenty of legitimate uses, if pushed. Back up copies would be the most obvious. Being able to rip short sections that then can be used fairly would be another.

I don't have the code, myself. Nor do I have the know-how to use it, anyway.